Dawns Darkness
by Masaichu
Summary: Every legend I've read states that Darkness came before Dawn. Never the other way round. But today, that will change. The Dawn will soon be forgotten. LxU, FxN, RxS. On Permanent Hiatus for now.
1. Insight

Here is the beginning to the sequel of "Have To." My writers block and thousand school projects have been getting in way a lot lately with my writing, so this chapter may seen just a little off. But I assure, it only gets better from here. Enjoy!

_--_

_According to the calender, today is the sixth month that has gone by since what happened. Six months have gone by so quickly, but on most days, time seems to tick by even slower than milliseconds._

_We all try to not think about it, or, God forbid, speak about it in any way._

_It's one of those things you can't let go of easily...Some days, I let go of it, and other days I don't. I know that I am very lucky to be here with my Robin-chwan..._

_But if all else fails, I know that Luffy will always be ready to fight for us. - Sanji._

--

_**This morning, I checked the calender. I wanted to be sure, and it looks like I was right. Sanji has been marking each day as it passes, and every one of those crosses that I see, I feel just a bit better.**_

_**He cooked up a bigger breakfast than usual this morning, and it even seemed like it tasted better. Luffy's been acting strange though, since he saw what today was.**_

_**I guess it must have struck something inside him.**_

_**When he ate, he wasn't loud, and he barely even stole food off our plates! Chopper had to make sure he wasn't sick or something because of it.**_

_**But I know him better than anyone else on this ship does. And even if I couldn't protect myself back then, I'm stronger now...**_

_**Strong enough to have Luffy as my own. - The Great Captain Usopp.**_

--

Maybe one day, I'll look back at that day and think, "How SUPA was it that I got out in time?" I mean, I seriously thought that all of us were going to end up dead.

The Sunny has held up very well through all of this, and that's what makes me proud.

It's not just the Sunny though that makes me proud now. Nami makes me even more proud on days. She's still easy to get angry though, and believe me, her punches hurt like the devil.

But I still love her, and I'm going to make sure nothing ever happens to her or my precious Sunny either. - Franky.

--

_The sky is very clear today, and the air is simply perfect.__It feels almost like summer, sometimes even spring.__We are traveling southwest at a steady pace, and should be reaching the island within the next few hours._ _- __Nami._

--

"Namiiiiii! When are we gonna get theeeeereee!?" Luffy whined, laying boredly on the grass. The twitching in Nami's eye was enough of a sign to show she was losing her patience with every question.

"SOON, Luffy."

"But soon always takes forever!"

A moment later, Luffy was shot across the ship, slamming into the wall as Sanji came running out of the Galley, carrying a platter with drinks and desserts.

"Nami-san! Robin-chwan! I brought you an afternoon snack!" Spinning over to the table, he was greeted by a smile and growl.

"Yes, yes, Sanji, thank you..." Nami took a swig of the drink, trying to drink away the annoyance left inside her.

Robin could only giggle and smile. "Thank you, Cook-san."

Yes, it's a normal day, considering what the calender says. Nobody has changed, everyone is the same...

That's how Luffy liked it. Sitting up and rubbing his head, he leaned against the wood and looked up at the sky, still bored.

A seagull here and there cawed down at him, and he was half hoping maybe they would fly to the ship and something would happen.

Something interesting, anything at all. Just something.

--

Nami felt herself tense up as she looked at the sky. It was a cloudless day, so why were her senses telling her a storm was coming?

It had to just be her imagination. Just nervousness. But that sense wouldn't go away no matter how much she tried to ignore it, and finally she stood up.

"Everyone, we must prepare the ship for a storm!" That suggestion clearly confused everyone.

"Why? It's so nice out today, and there aren't any clouds for miles!" Usopp said, looking to the sky with Chopper following after.

"I don't understand it either...But my senses never lie to me, so we have to be prepared in case it comes!"

At once, everyone sprang into action, moving things inside, locking doors and pulling the sails into position. Almost immediatly, clouds began to come at them, rain drizzling onto the Deck.

"Sanji, Zoro, pull the sails down! Luffy, Usopp, move those barrels inside!"

Lightning cracked just above the ship, and thunder boomed intensely.

The wind began to take over, tossing the Sunny from side to side as everyone ran from one place to another. This storm wasn't supposed to be any different than any other thing they'd faced.

For awhile, it seemed the ship was going to make it through, until the winds sped up to the fastest they'd seen since Reverse Mountain.

The air around the ship seemed to be turning into a fog, clouding up more and more.

Skidding on the Deck, Luffy stared into the fog for a moment. His eyes suddenly felt very heavy, and he tried not to let himself be over taken, but it was futile.

Falling onto his side, he allowed himself to submit to this warmth around him. The rain, the cold fog, the winds, they all just seemed to fade away, the blackness around him surprisingly calm...


	2. Adventure in Paradise?

He stays laying down, eyes shut as the rain drenches upon him and the winds throw him around.

Now, any normal human being would be frightened right now. Worried for their life, their crew's life, their ship.

But he feels nothing. The rain and the wind seem to fade away, as if they were never there. The yells of his crew are silenced by the sound of waves gently lapping along the shoreline of a beach.

At first he doesn't wish to open his eyes. This feeling is just too great. His body is laying on something soft now, not the hard, wooden Deck that was there only moments before.

A soft breeze picks up around him, and as he finally opens his eyes, all he can see above him is a perfectly cloudless blue sky.

Another moment later, he sits up and takes a look around, still devoid of worry. Patches of grassy fields and flowers lay around him.

Followed by a pure white beach stretching from here to who knows where. Behind him is a forest of trees, swaying in the wind.

"Where am I..." Luffy's voice was quiet as he continued to stare in awe at the island around him.

There was something about this place that seemed so familiar, and yet still so foreign. His mind tried to piece together any idea of where he was, and if he'd really been here before.

Luffy's eyes settled upon the forest, and his feet seemed to move on their own inside of it. The trees were huge, though nothing compared to the trees he remembered seeing on the journey to Skypiea.

The trees are covered in fruit, such as bananas, coconuts and mangos. It's like an island paradise, and he's half expecting to see a huge building of some sort. But there is only sand, vegetation, and water. Lots of water.

His crew doesn't come to his mind. His ship doesn't either. It's as though he has not a care in the world. Any man would be wondering what has happened, but for some reason, Luffy only feels happy.

Happy to be in this paradise, happy to be surrounded by clear sky, fruit and land.

Ahead of him, however, he spots something looming far off into the distance. Whatever it is, it is rather large, and a feeling of excitement wells up in his chest as he raced towards it.

An adventure! It's got to be another adventure!

--

I will not lie when I say I love this series I've made and that I do wish to turn it into a trilogy. However, it is hard to get into the mood in the middle of winter when you have a lot to worry about. For now, I am putting this story on temporary hiatus.

This story will continue sometime during this year, most likely during summer vacation when my writing skills are at their peak, or perhaps even sooner. Bare with me, I WILL continue this story, because I hate to see my stories die without an ending. What would really help is if any of you readers have any ideas to use in this story and future ones.

ANY ideas would be fantastic! And also, if you may, visit my profile and answer the poll I have set up. It would help me greatly in knowing what others would like done in this story. To all of you, thank you so much for your support, and I hope this story has a great future in 2009!


End file.
